Here's the progress on my winch bumper. Goals here were; high and tight, bolted and welded connections for winch (I'm not a certified welded
), recovery points mechanically attached to frame, flat spots for using high lift jack, reduce weight wherever possible.
Here's my concept:
"Winch box" is all 1/4" steel. Angle iron is bolted through the side plates to the frame. Winch base plate will be bolted and welded to the angle iron. You'll see the recovery points are integrated to the side plates and angle iron. I'll TIG and grind the seam in the recovery points to make it essentially one piece.
The "Wings" of the bumper are all 1/8" plate. I've done quite a bit of internal bracing and will plate the bottom. The bottom of the wings will remain flat for high lift jack lift points. I'll also truss the "wings" with a desert style "push bar" made from tube.
I'll fully weld out the internal bracing before I install the bottom plate. Planning to "slot weld" the internal braces through the bottom plate.
Current weight is about 60lbs right now.
I'm planning to use Crosby 209A shackles on the recovery points. I'm going to use the 5/8" shackle, which has a working load limit of 11,000lbs. This has a 1" throat on it, so I'll have to thicken the recovery points out from 1/2" to 1". I'll probably just plate both sides with more 1/4" plate and weld/ grind the seam to make it look like a 1" block.
I'm also planning on an aluminum skid plate extending below the bumper. Probably just low enough to protect the drop pitman arm and pack some snow down before arms plow it